Granville shooting fuels outrage as INDECOM probes St. James police killings

Tensions in Granville, St. James, rose again on Sunday, 17 March 2026, after residents said police fatally shot a woman identified locally as Latoya Bulggin, also known as Buju, while she sat in the driver’s seat of a black van in Granville Square. Witnesses claimed officers took her driver’s licence before gunfire. The death landed as protesters prepared to move from Granville Square to Sam Sharpe Square, after two weeks of calls for justice over a separate police fatal shooting of a teenager on Mother’s Day.

Member of Parliament Marlene Malahoo, who visited the scene, said emotions were raw and urged restraint, while insisting footage must be reviewed and action taken swiftly because public trust in the system is already low. Last week, St. James police had reported rising violence against women in the parish.

The latest killing sits alongside wider scrutiny of fatal police shootings. On 1 January, officers shot and killed four-year-old Roma Bowman, 16-year-old Cavon Martinez, and 24-year-old Desmond Dunlay in Granville. INDECOM is investigating. A parish politician’s description of that incident as murder drew a sharp response from police, who urged responsible language while probes continue. Deputy Commissioner Yanik Taylor Wellington had earlier noted a 65% rise in fatal police shootings in 2025, with 311 people killed by officers that year, and far higher early-2026 figures than the same period in 2025. INDECOM said January 1 cases were being pursued thoroughly; eight firearms were reportedly recovered across related incidents, and no body-worn cameras were reported activated, though one officer said he had a camera but no clip to wear it.

In Trelawny on Saturday, police acting on intelligence about a Stonebrook Estate robbery stopped a vehicle in Hague. Reports say armed men opened fire after the stop; officers returned fire. One wounded man later died in hospital. His name was not released.

Police charged 63-year-old Solomon Powell, alias Salah, over the 2014 double murder of Livingston Garvey and Mario Cross on Dyke Road and Highway 95 in Portmore, St. Catherine, when he was 50. Four men, aged 18 to 54, were held in St. James after a search at Hillview Close, Rose Heights, found a 9 mm pistol without a serial number and a magazine with 11 rounds.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding said an auditor general report showed the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management received J$1.44 billion in cash by 23 February 2026, five months after Hurricane Melissa, but spent only J$26 million, under 2%, calling it gross dereliction. Government Senator Marlon Morgan defended the administration, citing about J$67 billion earmarked for recovery sectors and insisting donor funds are accounted for while transparency steps continue.

On Foreshore Road in Falmouth, residents complained of scrap vehicles and garage clutter near the town’s welcome sign; the National Solid Waste Management Authority said enforcement notices were issued and crane removals were expected soon.

In Parliament, Speaker Juliet Holness stopped opposition member Nikisha Burchil from opening a sectoral speech in Jamaican Creole, citing standing orders. UTech associate professor Dr. Rohan Lewis said Parliament should reflect how Jamaicans speak and argued the issue is national, not a simple Patois-versus-English divide.